But apart from this a strong case can be made for autopoiesis, even
when it comes to the boundary. Ecologists have noted that more mature
ecosystems are more resistent to colonization of new species than young
ecosystems. This definitely resembles the organizational homeostasis of
autopoiesis.
The ecosystem may be seen to compensate for the deformations
(invasion). I'm not sure, but I believe that the extension of an
ecosystem in many cases is bounded (i.e. a forest, an island, a
valley), either sharply or fuzzily. We may speculate that ecosystems
need "help" from their physical environment in order to be able to
create such a boundary. This, if true, suggests that some ecosystems
that grow in "convenient" places will turn autopoietic, while other
more openended ecosystems will remain just dissipative. (I'm all along
assuming that the food-webs of ecosystems somehow make up the
autopoietic component production network). This is all very
complicated.
Onar.